Method and apparatus for thermal treatment of semiconductor workpieces

ABSTRACT

The present invention provides an apparatus and method for rapid and uniform thermal treatment of semiconductor workpieces in two closely arranged thermal treatment chambers with a retractable door between them. The retractable door moves in between two thermal treatment chambers during heating or cooling process, and additional heating and cooling sources are provided for double-side thermal treatment of the semiconductor workpiece.

FIELD

The present invention relates to an apparatus and a method for thermaltreatment of semiconductor workpieces. More specifically, the apparatusincludes two connected thermal treatment chambers and a retractable doorbetween them. The apparatus and method allow the semiconductorworkpieces be thermally treated from double sides by multiple heattransfer mechanisms at two different temperature settings.

BACKGROUND

In the production of semiconductor workpieces, numerous materials layersare deposited on a substrate during device fabrication. The depositedlayers may have different thermal expansion coefficients and containcontaminants, defects or undesired microstructures, which all havenegative effects on the semiconductor workpiece quality. Commonly athermal treatment process is required to reduce or eliminate thesenegative effects before the semiconductor workpieces are transferred tothe next fabrication step. Other deposited layers may need a thermaltreatment process to improve their physical and electrical properties.For example freshly deposited copper films in copper interconnectprocess need an anneal process to reduce their resistivity and stabilizegrain structures before the subsequent chemical mechanical polishingstep. Conventional thermal treatment is realized with a singleconductive, convective or radiant heat source. The single side thermaltreatment often leads to a large initial temperature gradient along thethickness of the semiconductor workpiece in the direction perpendicularto its surface. Such a temperature gradient, together with difference inthermal expansion coefficients among the layers, result in stressmismatch and deforms the semiconductor workpiece, commonly known as“bowing”. Severe bowing can cause device failure and yield loss. Inpractice the semiconductor workpiece is usually pre-heated for a periodof time before the thermal treatment at the desired temperature toreduce bowing. Therefore the time of thermal process is greatlyincreased and the process throughput is limited. Similarly lengthycooling step can also limit the process throughput. An apparatus and amethod for thermal treatment of semiconductor workpieces with smallertemperature gradient and higher efficiency are desired.

SUMMARY

The present invention provides an apparatus and a method for rapid anddouble-side thermal treatment of semiconductor workpieces in two closelyarranged thermal treatment chambers, each containing a first thermaltreatment source and a second thermal treatment source, the two thermaltreatment chambers are separated by a retractable door.

In one embodiment, the apparatus comprises a heating chamber and acooling chamber being vertically arranged with a retractable doorbetween them. The retractable door has a heating layer and a coolinglayer. During a thermal treatment process, the retractable door moves into separate the heating and cooling chambers. For a heating process, theheating layer of the retractable door provides an additional heatingsource for heating the front side of semiconductor workpiece, inaddition to a fixed heating source for heating the back side of thesemiconductor workpiece. The semiconductor workpiece is transported intothe cooling chamber by a vertical transportation mechanism for a coolingprocess after the heating process is completed. During a cooling processthe retractable door moves in between, the heating and cooling chambers.The cooling layer of the retractable door also provides an additionalcooling source for cooling the front side of the semiconductorworkpiece, in addition to the fixed cooling source for cooling the backside of the semiconductor workpiece.

In one embodiment, the semiconductor workpiece is preheated from bothfront and back sides before a heating process and precooled from bothfront and back sides before a cooling process.

In one embodiment, the apparatus comprises a heating chamber and acooling chamber being arranged horizontally adjacent to each other, witha retractable door between them. A second heating source for heating thefront side of the semiconductor workpiece is provided in the heatingchamber, in addition to a first heating source for heating the back sideof the semiconductor workpiece. The retractable door moves in betweenthe heating and cooling chambers during a heating process. Thesemiconductor workpiece is transported into the cooling chamber by ahorizontal transportation mechanism for a cooling process after theheating process is completed. A second cooling source for cooling thefront side of the semiconductor workpiece is provided in the coolingchamber, in addition to a first cooling source for cooling the back sideof the semiconductor workpiece. The retractable door moves in betweenthe heating and cooling chambers during the cooling process.

In one embodiment, the heating chamber and cooling chamber worksimultaneously and a plurality of semiconductor workpieces can beproceeded continuously.

In one embodiment, the semiconductor workpiece is preheated from bothfront and back sides before a heating process starts and precooled fromboth front and back sides before a cooling process.

In one embodiment, the retractable door removes the heat from theheating chamber when the cooling process is performed in the coolingchamber.

In one embodiment, both conductive heat transfer mechanism andconvective heat transfer mechanism are utilized for double-side thermaltreatment of the semiconductor workpiece.

In one embodiment, a method for thermal treatment of semiconductorworkpieces is provided. The process is suitable for a thermal treatmentapparatus with vertically stacked heating and cooling chambers, and aretractable door is provided to separate the chambers. Moving theretractable door in between the heating chamber and cooling chamber andtransporting a semiconductor workpiece into the heating chamber;starting heating processes; moving the retractable door out between theheating chamber and cooling chamber and transporting the semiconductorworkpiece from the heating chamber into the cooling chamber when theheating process completes; moving the retractable door in between theheating chamber and cooling chamber and starting cooling processes;transporting the semiconductor workpiece out of the cooling chamber.

In one embodiment, a method for thermal treatment of semiconductorworkpiece is provided. The process is suitable for a thermal treatmentapparatus with horizontally arranged heating and cooling chambers, and aretractable door is provided to separate the chambers. Moving theretractable door out between the heating chamber and the cooling chamberand transporting a first semiconductor workpiece into the heatingchamber and a second semiconductor workpiece into the cooling chamber;moving the retractable door in between the heating chamber and coolingchamber and starting heating and cooling processes; transporting thesecond semiconductor workpiece out of the cooling chamber after thecooling process completes; moving the retractable door out between theheating chamber and cooling chamber and transporting the firstsemiconductor workpiece from the heating chamber into the coolingchamber after the heating process completes; transporting a thirdsemiconductor workpiece into the heating chamber; moving the retractabledoor in between the heating chamber and cooling chamber and startingheating and cooling processes; repeating the above steps.

In one embodiment, the semiconductor workpiece is preheated before theheating process starts and precooled before the cooling process starts.

In one embodiment, both conductive heat transfer mechanism andconvective heat transfer mechanism are utilized for the double-sidethermal treatment on the workpiece.

The adapted double-side thermal treatment mechanism increases theefficiency and uniformity of the thermal treatment and reduces thermalstress mismatch and semiconductor workpiece deformation.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

The above or other features, natures or advantages of the presentinvention will be more obvious to the skilled person in the art by thefollowing descriptions of the embodiments accompanying with thedrawings, the same sign reference indicates the identical featuresthroughout the description, and wherein:

FIG. 1 illustrates a view of a disassembled thermal treatment apparatuswith a heating chamber and a cooling chamber vertically arrangedvertically with a retractable door therebetween;

FIG. 2 illustrates a side view of a thermal treatment apparatus with twothermal treatment chambers vertically arranged with a retractable doortherebetween;

FIG. 3 illustrates the method in which the retractable door moves intoand retracts out of the chambers;

FIG. 4A and FIG. 4B illustrate the isometric and top view of theretractable door;

FIG. 5 illustrates an isometric view of a fixed heating member in theheating chamber;

FIG. 6 illustrates the method that a retractable door with two separateparts moves into and retracts out of the chambers;

FIG. 7 illustrates another method that a retractable door with twoseparate parts moves into and retracts out of the apparatus;

FIG. 8 illustrates a side view of another thermal treatment apparatuswith a heating chamber and a cooling chamber vertically arranged;

FIG. 9 illustrates a view of a disassembled thermal treatment apparatuswith two thermal treatment chambers positioned horizontally with aretractable door therebetween;

FIG. 10 illustrates an isometric view of a semiconductor workpiecetransportation device.

FIG. 11 illustrates a view of another disassembled thermal treatmentapparatus with two thermal treatment chambers positioned horizontallywith a retractable door therebetween.

FIG. 12 illustrates a view of another disassembled thermal treatmentapparatus with two thermal treatment chambers positioned horizontallywith a retractable door therebetween.

FIG. 13 illustrates the method in which the heating chamber, the coolingchamber and the transportation mechanisms are arranged.

FIG. 14 illustrates the comparison of throughput of apparatus with twotransfer devices and that with one transfer device.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS First Embodiment of theApparatus

According to one aspect of the present invention, providing an apparatuscomprising a heating chamber and a cooling chamber vertically arranged,each containing a fixed heating or cooling source, which is a fixedheating or cooling member. the heating and cooling chambers areseparated by a retractable door. The retractable door moves in betweenthe heating and cooling chambers during a heating or cooling process.The retractable door provides an additional heating source for heatingthe semiconductor workpiece. The heating chamber realizes thedouble-side heating of the semiconductor workpiece with the fixedheating member for heating the backside of the semiconductor workpieceand with the additional heating source for heating the front side of thesemiconductor workpiece. Similarly, during a cooling process, theretractable door also moves in between the heating and cooling chambers.The retractable door provides an additional cooling source for coolingthe semiconductor workpiece. The cooling chamber realize the double-sideheating of the semiconductor workpiece with the fixed cooling member forcooling the front side of the semiconductor workpiece and with theadditional cooling source for cooling the backside of the semiconductorworkpiece.

As shown in FIG. 1, a view of a disassembled thermal treatment apparatuswith a heating chamber and a cooling chamber vertically arranged and aretractable door therebetween, is illustrated. The thermal apparatus 100comprises vertically arranged heating chamber 102 a and cooling chamber102 b. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, the heating chamber 102 a ispositioned under the cooling chamber 102 b. The heating chamber 102 aand the cooling chamber 102 b are separated by a retractable door 103. Afixed heating member 106 is set at the base of the heating chamber whichis kept at a constant temperature. A window 110 is set on the sidewallof the heating chamber 102 a for the semiconductor workpiece to betransferred into the heating chamber. A fluid distribution part 105 isalso provided in the heating chamber 102 a to provide required fluidduring the heating process. A vertical transportation mechanism 107 isshown at the bottom of the heating chamber. The vertical transportationmechanism 107 comprises a plurality of pins, at least 3, to transportand position the semiconductor workpiece. The vertical transportationmechanism 107 is controlled by an actuator 108 for transporting andpositioning the semiconductor workpiece. However, for the presentinvention, it is mainly concerned that the actuator 108 controls thevertical transportation mechanism 107 to lift the semiconductorworkpiece from the heating chamber 102 a into the cooling chamber 102 bafter the heating process is completed. In one embodiment, the actuator108 may be a step motor, a server motor or a cylinder. A second window109 is provided on the sidewall of the cooling chamber 102 b for thesemiconductor workpiece to be transferred out of the cooling chamber. Atop piece 101, which comprises a fluid distribution system and providesrequired fluid into the cooling chamber, is shown at the top of thecooling chamber 102 b. The retractable door 103 is driven by an actuator104 to move into the chambers and retract out of the chambers. In oneembodiment, the actuator 104 can be implemented by a cylinder. It shouldbe noticed that according to the present invention, the retractable door103 will only move in between the chambers when a heating process or acooling process is performed. The retractable door 103 also provides anadditional heating source and an additional cooling source so as torealize a double-side thermal treatment process to the semiconductorworkpieces. According to one embodiment, the fixed heating member in theheating chamber is heating coils or other heating means, and additionalcooling source is a cooling coil with a coolant being circulated throughthe cooling coil to remove heat out from the semiconductor workpiece.

Referring to FIG. 2, which illustrates a side view of a thermaltreatment apparatus with a heating chamber and a cooling chambervertically arranged with a retractable door therebetween. Tunnels 211 aand 211 b shown in FIG. 2 are used for a heat exchange means in the wallof the heating chamber 102 a and in the wall of the cooling chamber 102b. The heat exchange is by means of circulating water or other fluids ata fixed temperature.

Also referring to FIG. 2, the fixed heating member 106 is shown at thebottom of the heating chamber 102 a. The semiconductor workpiece can betransported by the vertical transportation mechanism 107, put on thefixed heating member 106, and heated from the back side by the fixedheating member with a conductive heat transfer mechanism. According toone embodiment, the fixed heating chamber 106 in the heating chamber 102a is heating coils or other heating means. A fixed cooling member 201 isshown at the top of the cooling chamber 102 b. In one embodiment, thefixed cooling member 201 is assembled on the bottom surface of the toppiece 101. The fixed cooling member 201 cools the semiconductorworkpiece with a convective heat transfer mechanism by flowing coldfluid to the front side of the workpiece through cooling member 201. Incontrast to the fixed heating member 106, the fixed cooling member 201does not touch the semiconductor workpiece itself. The fixed coolingmember 201 can be implemented as a perforated plate. According to oneembodiment, the fixed cooling member 201 is a cool fluid distributionmeans and the fluid used in the cool fluid distribution means isselected from a group comprising at least: an inert gas, a mixture ofinert gases or a mixture of inert gases and reductive gases, wherein thefluid mixture comprising 90-100% of inert gases and 0-10% of reductivegases. And the inert gases are selected from a group comprising atleast: argon, helium, nitrogen or other inert gases, and the reductivegases is selected from a group comprising at least: hydrogen or otherreductive gases.

As mentioned above, the retractable door 103 of the present inventionalso provides an additional heating source and an additional coolingsource during the heating and cooling process. Referring to FIG. 4A andFIG. 4B, which illustrate the structures of the retractable door, theretractable door connects to the actuator 104 through a connector 401.The retractable door has a plurality of slots 405 to fit the verticaltransportation mechanism 107. For example, the vertical transportationmechanism 107 has a plurality of pins for supporting the semiconductorworkpiece, and the slots 405 are used to fit the pins when theretractable door 103 moves into or retracts out of the chambers.

Back to FIG. 4A and FIG. 4B, the retractable door 103 shown in thisembodiment comprises two layers, a cooling layer 402 at the upper sideof the retractable door and a heating layer 403 at the lower side of theretractable door, the cooling layer 402 and the heating layer 403 areconnected by connectors, for example, a plurality of pins 404 as shownin FIG. 4A and FIG. 4B. Also as shown in FIGS. 4A and 4B, a gap is shownbeing placed between the heating layer 403 and the cooling layer 402.Additional cooling source 406 is embedded in the cooling layer 402 andadditional heating source 407 in the heating layer 403 for cooling andheating the semiconductor workpiece. A depression slightly larger thanthe semiconductor workpiece is provided on the upper surface of thecooling layer for containing the semiconductor workpiece. In oneembodiment, the additional cooling source 406 and the additional heatingsource 407 can be tunnels with cooling or heating liquids to flowthrough. In one embodiment, the cooling layer 402 comprises a coolingcoil with a coolant being circulated through the cooling coil to act asthe additional cooling source 406, the coolant being circulated throughthe cooling coil also removes heat out from the semiconductor workpiece.

It should be noticed that, the position of the cooling layer and theheating layer is reversible. According to the embodiment of FIG. 4A andFIG. 4B, the cooling chamber 102 b is positioned above the heatingchamber 102 a, and the retractable door 103 is positioned in between thetwo chambers Thus, the fixed heating member is at the bottom of theheating chamber, that is, under the retractable door, and the fixedcooling member is at the top of the cooling chamber, that is, over theretractable door. The cooling layer should be set at the side facing thefixed cooling member and the heating layer should be set at the sidefacing the fixed heating member. For one of the ordinary skilled in theart, it should be obvious that the present invention shall cover therange of:

The retractable door has a heating layer being positioned at the surfacefacing to a fixed heating member in the heating chamber, and a coolinglayer being positioned at the surface facing to a fixed cooling memberin the cooling chamber. Or, if the retractable door has a multi-layerstructure (more layers than shown in FIG. 4A and FIG. 4B), themulti-layer structure shall be constructed as follows: the most outersurface facing to the fixed cooling member is a cooling layer; and themost outer surface facing to the fixed heating member is a heatinglayer, the cooling layer and the heating layer is not directly touched,a gap or additional layers shall be set between them.

According to the embodiment shown in FIG. 4A and FIG. 4B, during acooling process, the retractable door moves in between the heating andcooling chambers. The additional cooling source 406 embedded in thecooling layer 402 not only provides an additional cooling source to thesemiconductor workpiece, but also removes the heat from the heatingchamber. Thus the semiconductor workpiece can be cooled efficiently. Forexample, in the embodiment that the cooling layer 402 comprises acooling coil with a coolant being circulated through the cooling coil toact as the additional cooling source 406, the coolant being circulatedthrough the cooling coil also removes heat out from the semiconductorworkpiece.

Referring to FIG. 5, which illustrates an isometric view of a fixedheating member in the heating chamber. The fixed heating member has acircular plate with a first type of holes 501 and a second type of holes502 on it. The first type of holes 501 is used for the pins of thevertical transportation mechanism 107 to go through and transport thesemiconductor workpiece. And the second type of holes 502 are connectedto a vacuum system for vacuum chuck of semiconductor workpiece. Theposition of the first type of the holes 501 is corresponding to theposition of the pins, and usually, the first type of the holes 501 arelocated at the edge of the fixed heating member. A depression slightlylarger than the semiconductor workpiece is provided on the upper surfaceof the fixed heating member to containing the semiconductor workpiece.

FIG. 3 illustrates the method in which the retractable door moves intoand retracts out of the chambers. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 3, theretractable door 301 moves into or retracts out of the chambers througha door port 303. The retractable door 301 has the similar structure asthe retractable door shown in FIG. 4A and FIG. 4B. There are slots 302on the retractable door 301 for the pins 305 of the verticaltransportation mechanism to go through when the door 301 moves. Numeral304 denotes the fixed heating member. In this embodiment, theretractable door is a single piece.

Referring to FIG. 6 and FIG. 7, wherein FIG. 6 illustrates the methodthat a retractable door with two separate parts moves into and retractsout of the chambers and FIG. 7 illustrates another way that aretractable door with two separate parts moves into and retracts out ofthe apparatus.

According to FIG. 6, the retractable door has two parts 603 a and 603 b.They may be driven by two actuators (not shown) to move into or out ofthe chambers. The control principle of the two actuators are the same asthe one actuator 104 mentioned above, so one of the ordinary skilled inthe art can carry out this embodiment based on the descriptions herewithout doubt. Back to FIG. 6, each part 603 a and 603 b of theretractable door has two slots 605. Each of the slots 605 fits a singlepin 602 when the door moves into or out of the chambers. The two parts603 of the retractable door moves into the chambers from oppositedirections through two door ports 604.

FIG. 7 illustrates a different design of the retractable door. As shownin FIG. 7, the retractable door has two parts 703 driven by twoactuators (not shown) to move into or out of the chambers. Each of theparts 702 has only one slot 702 a and two concaves 702 b to fit the pins705. As shown in FIG. 7, when the door moves, two pins will go throughthe slots 702 a and the other two pins will be enclosed by the concavesfrom the two parts 703 without touching. Thus, only two small concaves,slightly bigger than the half of the cross section of the pins, areneeded on the two parts 703 of the door. Similar to FIG. 6, the twoparts 703 of the retractable door also moves into the chambers fromopposite directions through two door ports 704.

According to one embodiment, the thermal treatment apparatus performs apreheating and precooling process before a heating or cooling processstarts. For the preheating process, when the semiconductor istransported into the heating chamber, it will be kept between the fixedheating member and the heating layer for a moment. The fixed heatingmember and the heating layer heat the front side and the back side ofthe semiconductor workpiece simultaneously during the preheatingprocess, both through the convective heat transfer mechanism. Similarly,the semiconductor workpiece will be precooled before the coolingprocess. However, in one embodiment, the precooling process is performedin a matter similar to the preheating process, and in anotherembodiment, the precooling process can be performed when thesemiconductor workpiece is transported from the heating chamber into thecooling chamber.

Second Embodiment of the Apparatus

In the first embodiment, the upper chamber in the vertically arrangedchambers is a cooling chamber and the lower chamber is a heatingchamber. In another embodiment, the upper chamber is a heating chamberand the lower chamber is a cooling chamber. Now referring to FIG. 8,which illustrates a disassembled view of another thermal treatmentapparatus with a heating chamber and a cooling chamber verticallyarranged.

As shown in FIG. 8, the thermal apparatus 800 comprises verticallyarranged heating chamber 800 a and cooling chamber 800 b. In theembodiment shown in FIG. 8, the heating chamber 800 a is positionedabove the cooling chamber 800 b with a retractable door between them. Afixed cooling member 804 is set at the base of the cooling chamber whichis kept at a constant temperature. A first window 801 is set on thesidewall of the cooling chamber 800 b for the semiconductor workpiece tobe transferred out of the cooling chamber. A fluid distribution part 802is also provided in the cooling chamber 800 b to provide required fluidduring the cooling process. A vertical transportation mechanism 803 isshown at the bottom of the cooling chamber. The vertical transportationmechanism 803 comprises a plurality of pins 805, at least 3 pins totransport and position the semiconductor workpiece. The verticaltransportation mechanism 806 is controlled by an actuator (not shown,but work as the same principle of the actuator 108 mentioned above) fortransporting and positioning the semiconductor workpiece. The actuatorcontrols the vertical transportation mechanism 803 to lift down thesemiconductor workpiece from the heating chamber 800 a into the coolingchamber 800 b after the heating process is completed. In one embodiment,the actuator may be a step motor, a server motor or a cylinder. A secondwindow 809 is provided on the sidewall of the heating chamber 800 a forthe semiconductor workpiece to be transferred into the heating chamber.A top piece 808, which comprises a fluid distribution system andprovides required fluid into the heating chamber 800 a is shown at thetop of the heating chamber 800 a. The retractable door 806 is driven byan actuator to move into the chambers and retract out of the chambers.In one embodiment, the actuator can be implemented by a cylinder. Itshould be noticed that according to the present invention, theretractable door 806 will only move in between the chambers when aheating process or a cooling process is performed. The retractable door806 also provides an additional heating source and an additional coolingsource so as to realize a double-side heating or cooling process to thesemiconductor workpieces.

Also referring to FIG. 8, the fixed cooling member 804 is shown at thebottom of the cooling chamber 800 b. The semiconductor workpiece can betransported by the vertical transportation mechanism 803, put on thefixed cooling member 804 and cooled by the fixed cooling member througha conductive heat transfer mechanism. Also, a fixed heating member 807is shown at the top of the heating chamber 800 a. In one embodiment, thefixed heating member 807 is assembled on the bottom surface of the toppiece 808. The fixed heating member 807 heats the semiconductorworkpiece through a convective heat transfer mechanism by flowing hotfluid to the front side of the semiconductor workpiece.

Since the position of the heating chamber and the cooling chamber isdifferent in the second embodiment with that of the first embodiment,the structure of the fixed heating member and the cooling member in thesecond embodiment are also a bit different. In the second embodiment,the fixed cooling member in the cooling chamber is cooling coils orother cooling means, and the fixed heating member in the heating chamberis a heat fluid distribution means, or heat gas distribution means.

As mentioned above, the retractable door 806 of the present inventionalso provides an additional heating source and an additional coolingsource during the heating and cooling process. As mentioned above, whenthe position of the heating chamber and the cooling chamber changes, thestructure of the retractable door also changes correspondingly. Thedesign of the present invention should be: the retractable door has aheating layer being positioned at the surface facing to a fixed heatingmember in the heating chamber, and a cooling layer being positioned atthe surface facing to a fixed cooling member in the cooling chamber. Agap is also provided between the cooling layer and the heating layer. Ifthe retractable door has a multi-layer structure, the multi-layerstructure shall be constructed as follows: the most outer surface facingto the fixed cooling member is a cooling layer; and the most outersurface facing to the fixed heating member is a heating layer. Thecooling layer and the heating layer is not directly touched, a gap oradditional layers shall be set between them.

For the structure of the retractable door 806, it is similar to theretractable door 103, so FIG. 4A and FIG. 4B will be used to illustratethe description of the door 806. However, it should be noticed that, theposition of the cooling layer and the heating layer are changed, so thenumerals in FIG. 4A and FIG. 4B are not suitable for the descriptions inthis embodiment. In the embodiment of FIG. 8, the cooling chamber 800 bis put under the heating chamber 800 a, and the retractable door 806 ispositioned between the two chambers. Thus, the fixed heating member isat the top of the heating chamber, that is, above the retractable door,and the fixed cooling member is at the bottom of the cooling chamber,that is, under the retractable door. The cooling layer should be set atthe side facing the fixed cooling member and the heating layer should beset at the side facing the fixed heating member. Similar to thestructure as FIG. 4A and FIG. 4B, the retractable door 806 may have thefollowing structure: the door 806 comprises two layers, a cooling layerat the lower side of the retractable door and a heating layer at theupper side of the retractable door, the cooling layer and the heatinglayer are connected by connectors, for example, a plurality of pins.Additional cooling source is embedded in the cooling layer andadditional heating source in the heating layer for double-side coolingand heating the semiconductor workpiece.

Other structure of the retractable door 806 is similar as theretractable door 103 as shown in FIG. 4A and FIG. 4B. The retractabledoor connects to the actuator through a connector. The retractable doorhas a plurality of slots to fit the vertical transportation mechanism.For example, the vertical transportation mechanism has a plurality ofpins for supporting the semiconductor workpiece, and the slots are usedto fit the pins when the retractable door moves into or retracts out ofthe chambers.

During a cooling process, the retractable door moves in between theheating and cooling chambers. The additional cooling source embedded inthe cooling layer not only provides an additional cooling source to thesemiconductor workpiece, but also removes the heat from the heatingchamber. Thus the semiconductor workpiece can be cooled efficiently.Such features are also similar to the first embodiment.

For the second embodiment, the retractable door 806 can also has aplurality of forms. For example, one of the forms is shown by FIG. 3.The retractable door 301 moves into or retracts out of the chambersthrough a door port 303. There are slots 305 on the retractable door 301to fit the pins 305 of the vertical transportation mechanism when thedoor 301 moves. Numeral 304 denotes the fixed heating member. In thisembodiment, the retractable door is a single piece.

A second form of the retractable door 806 is shown in FIG. 6, theretractable door has two parts 603 a and 603 b. They may be driven bytwo actuators (not shown) to move into or out of the chambers. Thecontrol principle of the two actuators are the same as that of the oneactuator 104 mentioned above, so one of the ordinary skilled in the artcan carry out this embodiment based on the descriptions here withoutdoubt. Back to FIG. 6, each part 603 of the retractable door has twoslots 605. Each of the slots 605 is used to fit a single pin 602 whenthe door moves. The two parts 603 of the retractable door move into thechambers from opposite directions through two door ports 604.

A third form of the retractable door 806 is shown in FIG. 7, theretractable door has two parts 703 driven by two actuators (not shown)to move into or out of the chambers. Each of the parts 703 has only oneslot 702 a and two concaves 702 b for the pins to go through. As shownin FIG. 7, when the door moves, two pins will go through the slots 702 aand the other two pins will be enclosed by the concaves 702 b from thetwo parts without touching. Thus, only two small concaves, slightlybigger than the half of the cross section of the pins, are needed on thetwo parts 703 of the door. Similar to FIG. 6, the two parts 703 of theretractable door also moves into the chambers from opposite directionsthrough two door ports 704.

The second embodiment of the apparatus also performs a preheating andprecooling process before a heating or cooling process starts. For thepreheating process, when the semiconductor is transported into theheating chamber, it will be kept between the fixed heating member andthe heating layer for a moment. The fixed heating member and the heatinglayer heat the front side and the back side of the semiconductorworkpiece simultaneously during the preheating process, both through theconvective heat transfer mechanism. Similarly, the semiconductorworkpiece will be precooled before the cooling process. However, in oneembodiment, the precooling process is performed in a matter similar tothe preheating process, and in another embodiment, the precoolingprocess can be performed when the semiconductor workpiece is transportedfrom the heating chamber into the cooling chamber.

It should be noticed that the first embodiment and the second embodimentare only examples of the thermal treatment apparatus with verticallyarranged heating and cooling chambers. For one of the ordinary skilledin the art, the following range can be obtained from the presentdescription without doubt. Therefore, the present invention shall not belimited to the embodiment, but along with the scope of the claims.

Based on the descriptions of the first and second embodiments, theapparatus of invention may be concluded as comprising: verticallyarranged heating and cooling chambers, a transportation mechanism fortransporting a semiconductor workpiece between the heating chamber andthe cooling chamber with a retractable door between them. Theretractable door at least moves in between the heating chamber and thecooling chamber during a heating process and provides an additionalheating source during the heating process. The retractable door has aheating layer being positioned at the surface facing to a fixed heatingmember in the heating chamber, the fixed heating member provides a fixedheating source while the heating layer provides as an additional heatingsource during the heating process. The retractable door also moves inbetween the heating chamber and the cooling chamber during a coolingprocess and provides an additional cooling source during the coolingprocess. The retractable door has a cooling layer being positioned atthe surface facing to a fixed cooling member in the cooling chamber, thefixed cooling member provides a fixed cooling source while the coolinglayer provides an additional cooling source during the cooling process.

The retractable door can move translationally or rotate into thechambers. For the translational movement, FIG. 3, FIG. 6 and FIG. 7 haveillustrated a plurality of implementation. For the rotational movement,it is not illustrated by figures; however it is easy to be understoodfrom the description above by one of the ordinary skilled in the art.That means, the a rotational moving mechanism can also be used to drivethe retractable door in and out between the heating chamber and thecooling chamber

According to the present invention, both the conductive heat transfermechanism and the convective heat transfer mechanism are utilized and adouble-side thermal treatment is achieved.

The thermal treatment apparatus can be applied in the followingapplications, for example: heat and cool a thin film or a stack of thinfilms; or anneal metallic or insulative films in semiconductorinterconnect; or reflow the solder; or cure and/or bake the polymericcoatings.

Thermal treatment process of vertically arranged heating and coolingchambers

For the first and second embodiments mentioned above, they may perform athermal treatment process as follows:

providing a heating chamber and a cooling chamber being stackedvertically;

providing a retractable door for separating the heating chamber and thecooling chamber;

providing a fixed heating member at bottom of the heating chamber, and aheating layer at the lower surface of the retractable door;

providing a fixed cooling member at top of the cooling chamber, and acooling layer at the upper surface of the retractable door;

moving the retractable door in between the heating chamber and coolingchamber and transporting a semiconductor workpiece into the heatingchamber;

starting heating processes;

moving the retractable door out between the heating chamber and coolingchamber and transporting the semiconductor workpiece from the heatingchamber into the cooling chamber when the heating process completes;

moving the retractable door in between the heating chamber and coolingchamber and starting cooling processes;

transporting the semiconductor workpiece out of the cooling chamber.

An embodiment of the process of the thermal treatment of semiconductorworkpieces will be outlined under the circumstance when the structure ofthe first embodiment is used.

The fluid distribution part 105 turns on and the retractable door 103moves in between the heating chamber and the cooling chamber. The firstwindow 110 opens and the semiconductor workpiece is transferred into theheating chamber 102 a by a mechanical transportation means. Thesemiconductor workpiece is first located at the exchange position by themechanical transportation means. The pins of the vertical transportationmechanism 107 raise and carry the semiconductor workpiece to thereceiving position. Then the mechanical transportation means retractsout of the heating chamber 102 a. The fluid distribution part 105 keepson but at a reduced flow rate during this process. The pins of thevertical transportation mechanism 107 move down and carry thesemiconductor workpiece to a pre-heating position. The pre-heatingposition should be: 1) above the fixed heating member 106 so the backside of the semiconductor workpiece can be put on the fixed heatingmember 106 a bit later; 2) under the retractable door 103 so to thefront side of the semiconductor workpiece can be heated by theadditional heating source provided by the retractable door 103. Thefluid distribution part 105 still keeps on during this process. Thesemiconductor workpiece stays at the pre-heating position for a periodof time while both the fixed heating member 106 and the heating layer ofthe retractable door 103 heat the semiconductor workpiece by convectiveheat transfer mechanism. Then the pins of the vertical transportationmechanism 107 move down and place the semiconductor workpiece on thesurface of the fixed heating member 106. Vacuum system turns on to chuckthe semiconductor workpiece so that its backside is in contact with thefixed heating member. The semiconductor workpiece is then heated on thefixed heating member 106 for a period of time. During this period oftime, the semiconductor workpiece is heated by the fixed heating memberthrough a conductive heat transfer mechanism from the back side and bythe heating layer of the retractable door 103 through a convective heattransfer mechanism from the front side. When the heating process iscompleted, the vacuum chuck is off and the semiconductor workpiece isde-chucked. The fluid distribution means 201 on the top piece 101 turnson and the retractable door 103 moves out of the chambers to make theheating chamber and the cooling chamber be connected. Pins of thevertical transportation mechanism 107 then raise and carry thesemiconductor workpiece into the cooling chamber 102 b. The retractabledoor 103 moves into the chambers again and locates below thesemiconductor workpiece to begin a cooling process. The fluiddistribution part 105 turns off. When the pins of the verticaltransportation mechanism 107 raise, the semiconductor is precooled. Inother embodiments, an additional precool process can be performed whenthe semiconductor workpiece is transported into the cooling chamber.

The fixed cooling member 201, which is a fluid distribution means, keepson when the semiconductor workpiece is lifted into the cooling chamber102 b. Pins of the vertical transportation mechanism 107 move down andplace the semiconductor workpiece on the upper surface of theretractable door 103 so that the back side of the semiconductorworkpiece is in contact with the cooling layer of the retractable door.The fixed cooling member 201 still keeps on to cool the front side ofthe semiconductor workpiece by a convective heat transfer mechanismduring this process. At the same time the semiconductor workpiece iscooled from the backside on the upper surface of the retractable door103 by a conductive heat transfer mechanism for a period of time. Andduring the cooling process, the fluid distribution means 201 keeps on.

When the cooling process is over, pins of the vertical transportationmechanism 107 raise and carry the semiconductor workpiece to theexchange position and the second window 109 opens. Then a mechanicaltransportation means will receive the semiconductor workpiece and movesit out of the cooling chamber 102 b from the cooling chamber window 109.Then pins of the vertical transportation mechanism 107 move down to theheating chamber.

Sequential semiconductor workpiece is transferred into the heatingchamber for the double-side thermal treatment for the same process asintroduced above.

It should be noticed that the thermal treatment process listed above isonly an example of the thermal treatment process provided by the presentinvention. For one of the ordinary skilled in the art, the followingrange can be obtained from the present description without doubt.Therefore, the present invention shall not be limited to the embodiment,but along with the scope of the claims.

Based on the descriptions of the embodiments of the apparatus and theprocess embodiment, the method for thermal treatment process of asemiconductor workpiece may be concluded as comprising at least:providing a heating chamber and a cooling chamber being stackedvertically; providing a retractable door for separating the heatingchamber and the cooling chamber; providing a fixed heating member atbottom of the heating chamber, and a heating layer at the lower surfaceof the retractable door; providing a fixed cooling member at top of thecooling chamber, and a cooling layer at the upper surface of theretractable door; moving the retractable door in between the heatingchamber and cooling chamber and transporting a semiconductor workpieceinto the heating chamber; starting heating processes; moving theretractable door out between the heating chamber and cooling chamber andtransporting the semiconductor workpiece from the heating chamber intothe cooling chamber when the heating process completes; moving theretractable door in between the heating chamber and cooling chamber andstarting cooling processes; transporting the semiconductor workpiece outof the cooling chamber.

The retractable door has a heating layer being positioned at the surfacefacing to a fixed heating member in the heating chamber, the fixedheating member provides a fixed heating source for conductive heating ofthe back side of the semiconductor workpiece while the heating layerprovides as an additional heating source for convective heating of thefront side of the semiconductor workpiece during the heating process.The retractable door also has a cooling layer being positioned at thesurface facing to a fixed cooling member in the cooling chamber, thefixed cooling member provides a fixed cooling source for convectivecooling of the front side of the semiconductor workpiece while thecooling layer provides an additional cooling source for conductivecooling of the backside of the semiconductor workpiece during thecooling process.

According to the present invention, both the conductive heat transfermechanism and the convective heat transfer mechanism are utilized and adouble-side thermal treatment to semiconductor workpiece is realized.

The thermal treatment method can be applied in the followingapplication, for example: heat and cool a thin film or a stack of thinfilms; or annealing metallic or insulative films in semiconductorinterconnect; or reflow the solder; or cure and/or bake the polymericcoatings.

Third Embodiment of the Apparatus

According to another aspect of the present invention, providing anapparatus comprising a heating chamber and a cooling chamber be arrangedhorizontally adjacent to each other, with a retractable door between theheating and cooling chambers. The retractable door moves in between theheating and cooling chambers during a heating process. An additionalheating source for heating the semiconductor workpiece is provided inthe heating chamber. Thus, the semiconductor workpiece is heated fromdouble sides by a fixed heating source and an additional heating source.The apparatus also comprises a horizontal semiconductor workpiecetransfer mechanism to support and transfer semiconductor workpiecebetween the heating chamber and the cooling chamber. The horizontalsemiconductor workpiece transfer mechanism may comprise at least onesemiconductor workpiece transfer device. FIG. 10 illustrates anisometric view of a transfer device, which has an arm 1001 connected toan actuator and a support ring 1002 with a plurality of fingers 1003 tohold the semiconductor workpiece on the transfer device. The transferdevice is controlled by an actuator for rotating and vertical movement.The actuator comprises two motors, each to control one kind of motion ofthe transfer device. In one embodiment, the semiconductor workpiecetransfer mechanism comprises one transfer device, and in anotherembodiment, the semiconductor workpiece transfer mechanism comprises twotransfer devices, each is controlled by an actuator respectively.

According to one embodiment, a transfer device comprises 3 supportingfingers, and the angle between the line across the rotating axis of onetransfer device and the center of the heating plate and the line acrossthe rotating axis of the other transfer device and the center of theheating plate is 120°. In another embodiment, the transfer devicecomprises 4 supporting fingers, and the angle between the line acrossthe rotating axis of one transfer device and the center of the heatingplate and the line across the rotating axis of the other transfer deviceand the center of the heating plate is 90°. In a third embodiment, thetransfer device comprises 5 supporting fingers, and the angle betweenthe line across the rotating axis of one transfer device and the centerof the heating plate and the line across the rotating axis of the othertransfer device and the center of the heating plate is 144°. In a fourthembodiment, the transfer device comprises 6 supporting fingers, and theangle between the line across the rotating axis of one transfer deviceand the center of the heating plate and the line across the rotatingaxis of the other transfer device and the center of the heating plate is120°.

Back to the thermal treatment apparatus. As shown in FIG. 9, whichillustrates an isometric view of a thermal treatment apparatus with aheating chamber and a cooling chamber positioned horizontally with aretractable door therebetween. The thermal treatment apparatus 900comprises a heating chamber 900 a and a cooling chamber 900 b positionedadjacent to each other horizontally. A first heating member, as aheating plate 902, is set at the base of the heating chamber 900 a,which is kept at a constant temperature. The heating plate 902 maycomprise a heating coil. A first cooling member, as a heating plate 903,is set at the base of the heating chamber 900 b, which is kept at aconstant temperature. The cooling plate 903 may comprises a coolingcoil. A first window 907 is set on the sidewall 901 of the heatingchamber 900 a for the semiconductor workpiece to be transferred into theheating chamber 900 a. A fluid distribution part 912 a is also providedin the heating chamber 900 a to provide required fluid during theheating process. A group of transfer devices 904 and 905 are provided tosupport and transfer the semiconductor workpiece between the heating andcooling plates. As shown in FIG. 9, numeral 904 and 905 denote thetransfer device while numeral 911 denotes the support ring of thetransfer device. Two transfer devices 904 and 905 are controlled by twoactuators, one of which is 906 for transporting and positioning thesemiconductor workpiece. According to one embodiment, the transferdevice 904 and 905 can rotate and vertically move. When the coolingprocess is completed, the semiconductor workpiece is transported out ofthe cooling chamber by the transport devices through a second window 908on the sidewall 901 of the cooling chamber.

The heating chamber 900 a and the cooling chamber 900 b have a top piece910, which comprises fluid distribution parts 912 a and 912 b in thelower surface of the workpiece. The heating fluid distribution part 912a provides hot required fluid to the heating chamber 900 a and thecooling fluid distribution part 912 b provides cool required fluid tothe cooling chamber 900 b. The heating fluid distribution part and thecooling fluid distribution part are utilized as additional heating andcooling sources during a heating or cooling process. The work principalof the fluid distribution parts 912 a and 912 b is similar to the fluiddistribution parts in the first and second embodiment of the thermaltreatment apparatus. And the fluid that is used is also similar to theabove embodiments.

The retractable door 909 moves in between the heating and coolingchambers when a heating process or a cooling process is initiated.

According to the embodiment shown in FIG. 9, the heating chamber 900 aand the cooling chamber 900 b can work simultaneously. For example, afirst semiconductor workpiece can be heated in the heating chamberfirst, and then the first semiconductor workpiece is transferred by theone transfer device to the cooling chamber for a cooling process, at thesame time a second semiconductor workpiece can be transferred into theheating chamber and begin a heating process by another transfer device.The retractable door 909 will only retract when the semiconductorworkpiece is being transferred between the chambers, and at any othertime, the retractable door 909 moves in between the two chambers.According to an embodiment, the retractable door 909 has a heat exchangemeans embedded in and removes the heat from the heating chamber to keepits temperature equal to the temperature of chamber walls.

According to the embodiment of FIG. 9, in both heating chamber 900 a andcooling chamber 900 b, the heating plate 902 and the cooling plate 903apply a conductive heat transfer mechanism to the back side of thesemiconductor workpiece, while the heating fluid distribution means andthe cooling fluid distribution means apply a convective heat transfermechanism to the front side of the semiconductor workpiece. Therefore,double-side thermal treatment on the semiconductor workpiece is realizedin both the heating process and the cooling process. In one embodiment,the semiconductor workpirce is preheated and precooled before a heatingor cooling process starts. During the preheating or precooling process,both the heating/cooling plates and the heating/cooling fluiddistribution means perform a convective heat transfer mechanism.

Based on the above descriptions of the third embodiment, the thermaltreatment apparatus with horizontally arranged chambers may be concludedas comprising at least: horizontally adjacent heating and coolingchambers; a transportation mechanism for transporting a semiconductorworkpiece between the heating chamber and the cooling chamber; aretractable door between the heating chamber and the cooling chamber;the retractable door moves in between the heating chamber and thecooling chamber during a heating process; and the heating chamberprovides an additional heating source during the heating process; theretractable door also moves in between the heating chamber and thecooling chamber during a cooling process; and the cooling chamberprovides an additional cooling source during the cooling process.

The heating chamber has an second heating member being positioned at theside facing to a first heating member in the heating chamber, the firstheating member provides a first heating source for conductive heating ofthe back side of the semiconductor workpiece and the second heatingmember provides an additional heating source for convective heating ofthe front side of the semiconductor workpiece during the heatingprocess. The cooling chamber has an second cooling member beingpositioned at the side facing to a first cooling member in the coolingchamber, the first cooling member provides a first cooling source forconductive cooling of the back side of the semiconductor workpiece andthe second cooling member provides an additional cooling source forconvective cooling of the front side of the semiconductor workpieceduring the cooling process.

For the apparatus described above, it comprise a heating chamber windowand a cooling chamber window which are facing to the same direction forone access means. In another embodiment, the apparatus may comprise aheating chamber window facing to one direction for one access means anda cooling chamber window facing to another opposite direction foranother access means, and the line across the centers of the two windowsis not parallel to the side of the apparatus, as shown in FIG. 11. Inanother embodiment, the apparatus may comprise a heating chamber windowfacing to one direction for one access means and a cooling chamberwindow facing to another opposite direction for another access means,and the line across the centers of the two windows is parallel to theside of the apparatus, as shown in FIG. 12. It should be noticed that,since the other structures of the embodiments shown in FIG. 11 and FIG.12 are the same as the embodiment introduced above, they will be notdescribed again here. The difference between these embodiments is thepositions of the windows.

According to the present invention, the double-side thermal treatmentwith both the conductive heat transfer mechanism and the convective heattransfer mechanism is realized to the semiconductor workpiece. In oneembodiment, a preheating or precooling process is also included, andduring the preheating and precooling process, both the first and secondthermal treatment members apply a convective hear transfer mechanism.

The apparatus with horizontally arranged chambers is adapted to: heatand cool a thin film or a stack of thin films; or annealing metallic orinsulative films in semiconductor interconnect; or reflow the solder; orcure and/or bake the polymeric coatings.

Thermal Treatment Process of Horizontally Arranged Heating and CoolingChambers

For the thermal treatment apparatus with horizontally arranged chambers,the process is a bit different with the apparatus with verticallyarranged chambers. For the apparatus with vertically arranged chambers,only one semiconductor workpiece can be treated in the apparatus for onetime, but for the apparatus with horizontally arranged chambers, theheating chamber and the cooling chamber can treat more than onesemiconductor workpieces simultaneously.

For example the process instructed below is based on the assumption thatthe time for heating is longer than that of cooling. A typical thermaltreatment process is:

1) a fluid distribution means 912 a in the heating chamber turns on anda retractable door moves in between the heating chamber and the coolingchamber. Heating chamber window opens and workpiece A is transferredinto the heating chamber and received by a semiconductor workpiecetransfer device A (either transfer device 904 or 905 could be transferdevice A in the above description).

2) Semiconductor workpiece A is transferred to a pre-heating position bytransfer device A and pre-heated, as mentioned above, according to thepresent invention, the semiconductor workpiece A is double-sidepre-heated by both the fixed heating member and the additional heatingmember with a convective heating mechanism. During this step, theretractable door keeps in between the heating chamber and the coolingchamber.

3) When the pre-heating process is completed, semiconductor workpiece Ais transferred onto the heating plate (for example, the heating plate902 in FIG. 9) and double-side heated. The semiconductor workpiece A isbeing heated by the heating plate (fixed heating source) with aconductive heating mechanism and by the heating fluid distribution part(additional heating source) with a convective heating mechanismsimultaneously. During step 3), the retractable door keeps in betweenthe heating chamber and the cooling chamber.

4) When the heating process is completed, a fluid distribution part 912b in the cooling chamber turns on and the retractable door moves out ofthe chambers. The heating and cooling chambers are connected so that thesemiconductor workpiece can be transferred. Then semiconductor workpieceA is transferred to the cooling chamber by transfer device A. Now theheating chamber is free, so simultaneously semiconductor workpiece B istransferred into the heating chamber by another transfer device B.During step 4), the retractable door keeps out of the chambers. In oneembodiment, the semiconductor workpiece is precooled during the processit is transported from the heating chamber into the cooling chamber.

5) The retractable door moves in between the heating and coolingchambers again. Now semiconductor workpiece A is in the cooling chamberand semiconductor workpiece B is in the heating chamber, they can betreated simultaneously. The heating process that semiconductor workpieceB undergoes is the same as that mentioned above and will not berepeated. For the cooling process that semiconductor workpiece Aundergoes, transfer device A put semiconductor workpiece A on thecooling plate (for example, the cooling plate 903 in FIG. 9).Semiconductor workpiece A is double-side cooled by the cooling plate(fixed cooling source) with a conductive cooling mechanism on thebackside and the cooling fluid distribution system (additional coolingsource) with a convective cooling mechanism on the front sidesimultaneously. During step 5), the retractable door keeps in betweenchambers.

6) If the heating time is longer than the cooling time, semiconductorworkpiece A finishes the cooling process first and then is transferredout of the cooling chamber. Since the heating time is longer than thecooling time, semiconductor workpiece B is still being heated whensemiconductor workpiece A is transferred out of the cooling chamber. Andcooling chamber is free. During step 6), the retractable door keeps inbetween chambers.

7) When semiconductor workpiece B finishes heating, the retractable doormoves out of chambers for transferring semiconductor workpiece B intothe cooling chamber, simultaneously semiconductor workpiece C istransferred into the heating chamber and received by transfer device A.The following procedure is the same as described above.

In order to ensure that the two transfer devices do not interfere witheach other during the transportation of semiconductor workpieces, thetwo transfer devices are positioned in a certain configuration and maybe designed with different lengths. As shown in FIG. 13, P1 denotes thecenter of the heating plate and P2 denotes the center of the coolingplate. O1 and O2 are the axis around which the transfer devices rotate.The angle between O1P1 and O1P2 and that between O2P1 and O2P2 relatesto the number of fingers on the transfer device. And for example, if thetransfer devices comprise 4 fingers, FIG. 13 illustrates a way in whichthe heating chamber, the cooling chamber and the transportationmechanism are arranged. The angle between O1P1 and O1P2 and that betweenO2P1 and O2P2 are both 90 degree.

Based on the descriptions of the third embodiment of the apparatus andthe process embodiment, more than one semiconductor workpieces could bethermally treated simultaneously in the apparatus with two transferdevices. Thus the throughput is greatly improved compared to that of theapparatus with only one transfer device. For a given recipe, the timefor thermal treatment as a function of the number of treatedsemiconductor workpieces is shown in FIG. 14 for both apparatus. Thethroughput improves 73.6 percent for apparatus with 2 transfer devicescompared to that with one transfer device.

It should be noticed that the thermal treatment process for horizontallyarranged chambers mentioned above is only an example of the thermaltreatment process provided by the present invention. For one of theordinary skilled in the art, the following range can be obtained fromthe present description without doubt. Therefore, the present inventionshall not be limited to the embodiment, but along with the scope of theclaims.

Based on the descriptions of the embodiments of the apparatus and theprocess embodiment, the method for thermal treatment process ofsemiconductor workpieces may be concluded as comprising at least:providing a heating chamber and a cooling chamber positionedhorizontally adjacent; providing a retractable door for separating theheating chamber and the cooling chamber; providing first heating membersat bottom of the heating chamber, and second heating members at top ofheating chamber; providing first cooling members at bottom of theheating chamber, and second cooling members at top of heating chamber;moving the retractable door out between the heating chamber and thecooling chamber and transporting a first semiconductor workpiece intothe heating chamber and second semiconductor workpiece into the coolingchamber; moving the retractable door in between the heating chamber andcooling chamber and starting heating and cooling processes; transportingthe second semiconductor workpiece out of the cooling chamber after thecooling process completes; moving the retractable door out between theheating chamber and cooling chamber and transporting the firstsemiconductor workpiece from the heating chamber into the coolingchamber after the heating process completes; transporting a thirdsemiconductor workpiece into the heating chamber; moving the retractabledoor in between the heating chamber and cooling chamber and startingheating and cooling processes; repeating the above steps.

The heating chamber has an additional heating member, for example, aheating fluid or fluid distribution system facing to a fixed heatingmember in the heating chamber, the fixed heating member provides a fixedheating source while the additional heating member provides as anadditional heating source during the heating process. The coolingchamber has an additional heating member, for example, a cooling fluidor fluid distribution system facing to a fixed cooling member in thecooling chamber, the fixed cooling member provides a fixed coolingsource while the additional cooling member provides an additionalcooling source during the cooling process.

According to the present invention, a double-side thermal treatment withboth the conductive heat transfer mechanism and the convective heattransfer mechanism is realized to the semiconductor workpiece.

In one embodiment, the semiconductor workpiece is preheated before theheating process starts, and the semiconductor workpiece is precooledbefore the cooling process starts.

The cooling time in cooling chamber is T1, the heating time in heatingchamber is T2, and if T1≦T2, then time to transport the firstsemiconductor workpiece into heating chamber will be set at least T1−T2later than time to transport the second semiconductor workpiece intocooling chamber; if T1<T2, then time to transport the firstsemiconductor workpiece into heating chamber will be set at least T2−T1earlier than time to transport the second semiconductor workpiece intocooling chamber.

The double-side thermal treatment method can be applied in the followingapplication, for example: heat and cool a thin film or a stack of thinfilms; or annealing metallic or insulative films in semiconductorinterconnect; or reflow the solder; or cure and/or bake the polymericcoatings.

The adapted double-side thermal treatment mechanism of the presentinvention increases the efficiency and throughput and uniformity of thethermal treatment and reduces thermal stress mismatch and semiconductorworkpiece deformation.

The previous description of the disclosed embodiments is provided toenable any person skilled in the art to make or use the presentinvention. Various modifications to these embodiments will be readilyapparent to those skilled in the art and the generic principles definedherein may be applied to other embodiments without departing from thespirit or scope of the invention. Thus, the present invention is notintended to be limited to the embodiments shown herein but is to beaccorded the widest scope consistent with the principles and novelfeatures disclosed herein.

1. An apparatus for thermal treatment of semiconductor workpieces,comprising: vertically arranged heating and cooling chambers; atransportation mechanism for transporting a semiconductor workpiecebetween the heating chamber and the cooling chamber; a retractable doorfor separating the heating chamber and the cooling chamber; wherein theretractable door moves in between the heating chamber and the coolingchamber when a heating process or a cooling process starts; and theretractable door comprising a heating layer and a cooling layer.
 2. Theapparatus of claim 1, wherein said heating chamber comprising a fixedheating member being positioned at bottom side of the heating chamber;said heating layer on the retractable door being positioned at a surfacefacing to said fixed heating member in the heating chamber.
 3. Theapparatus of claim 2, wherein the fixed heating member comprisingheating coils or other heating means, and the heating layer on theretractable door comprising heating coils or other heating means.
 4. Theapparatus of claim 2, wherein the fixed heating member performs aconductive heat transfer mechanism and the heating layer performs aconvective heat transfer mechanism during a heating process.
 5. Theapparatus of claim 2, wherein the semiconductor workpiece is preheatedbefore a heating process starts.
 6. The apparatus of claim 5, whereinthe fixed heating member and the heating layer perform a convective heattransfer mechanism when the semiconductor workpiece is preheated.
 7. Theapparatus of claim 1, wherein said cooling chamber comprising a fixedcooling member being positioned at top side of the cooling chamber, andsaid cooling layer on the retractable door being positioned at a surfacefacing to said fixed cooling member in the cooling chamber.
 8. Theapparatus of claim 7, wherein the fixed cooling member comprising a coolfluid distribution means.
 9. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein the fluidused in the cool fluid distribution means is selected from a groupcomprising at least: an inert gas, a mixture of inert gases or a mixtureof inert gases and reductive gases, wherein the fluid mixture comprising90-100% of inert gases and 0-10% of reductive gases.
 10. The apparatusof claim 9, wherein the inert gases is selected from a group comprisingat least: argon, helium, nitrogen or other inert fluids, and thereductive gases is selected from a group comprising at least: hydrogenor other reductive gases.
 11. The apparatus of claim 5, the fixedcooling member performs a convective heat transfer mechanism and thecooling layer performs a conductive heat transfer mechanism.
 12. Theapparatus of claim 5, wherein the semiconductor workpiece is precooledbefore a cooling process starts.
 13. The apparatus of claim 12, whereinthe fixed cooling member and the cooling layer perform a convective heattransfer mechanism when the semiconductor workpiece is precooled. 14.The apparatus of claim 7, wherein the cooling layer comprising coolingcoil, wherein a coolant being circulated through the cooling coil toremove heat out from the semiconductor workpiece.
 15. The apparatus ofclaim 1, wherein the retractable door further comprises a gap beingplaced between said heating layer and said cooling layer.
 16. Theapparatus of claim 1, wherein the apparatus is used for: heating andcooling a thin film or a stack of thin films.
 17. The apparatus of claim1, wherein the apparatus is used for: annealing metallic or insulativefilms in semiconductor interconnect.
 18. The apparatus of claim 1,wherein the apparatus is used for: reflowing the solder.
 19. Theapparatus of claim 1, wherein the apparatus is used for: curing and/orbaking the polymeric coatings.
 20. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein theretractable door further comprising a linear moving mechanism to drivethe retractable door in and out between the heating chamber and thecooling chamber.
 21. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the retractabledoor further comprising a rotational moving mechanism to drive theretractable door in and out between the heating chamber and the coolingchamber.
 22. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the transportationmechanism comprising at least three lift pins through the fixed heatingmember.
 23. An apparatus for thermal treatment of semiconductorworkpieces, comprising: horizontally adjacent heating and coolingchambers; a transportation mechanism for transporting a semiconductorworkpiece between the heating chamber and the cooling chamber; and aretractable door for separating the heating chamber and the coolingchamber; wherein the retractable door moves in between the heatingchamber and the cooling chamber when a heating process or coolingprocess starts and wherein the retractable door comprising a heatinglayer and a cooling layer.
 24. The apparatus of claim 23, wherein saidheating chamber comprising first heating member positioned on bottom ofthe heating chamber and second heating member positioned on top of theheating chamber.
 25. The apparatus of claim 24, wherein the firstheating member performs a conductive heat transfer mechanism and thesecond heating member performs a convective heat transfer mechanismduring a heating process.
 26. The apparatus of claim 24, wherein thesemiconductor workpiece is preheated before a heating process starts.27. The apparatus of claim 26, wherein the first heating member and thesecond heating member perform a convective heat transfer mechanism whenthe semiconductor workpiece is preheated.
 28. The apparatus of claim 23,wherein the cooling chamber comprising first cooling member positionedon bottom of the heating chamber and second cooling member positioned ontop of heating chamber.
 29. The apparatus of claim 28, wherein the firstcooling member performs a conductive heat transfer mechanism and thesecond cooling member performs a convective heat transfer mechanismduring a cooling process.
 30. The apparatus of claim 28, wherein thesemiconductor workpiece is precooled before a cooling process starts.31. The apparatus of claim 30, wherein the first cooling member and thesecond cooling member perform a convective heat transfer mechanism whenthe semiconductor workpiece is precooled.
 32. The apparatus of claim 23,wherein said transport mechanism comprises at least one transfer device.33. The apparatus of claim 23, wherein said transport mechanismcomprising two transfer devices.
 34. The apparatus of claim 33, whereinthe two transfer devices have arms, and the lengths of the arms of thetwo transfer devices are different.
 35. The apparatus of claim 23,wherein said transfer devices comprising 3 supporting fingers, and theangle between the line across the rotating axis of one transfer deviceand the center of the heating plate and the line across the rotatingaxis of the other transfer device and the center of the heating plate is120°.
 36. The apparatus of claim 23, wherein said transfer devicescomprising 4 supporting fingers, and the angle between the line acrossthe rotating axis of one transfer device and the center of the heatingplate and the line across the rotating axis of the other transfer deviceand the center of the heating plate is 90°.
 37. The apparatus of claim23, wherein said transfer devices comprising 5 supporting fingers, andthe angle between the line across the rotating axis of one transferdevice and the center of the heating plate and the line across therotating axis of the other transfer device and the center of the heatingplate is 144°.
 38. The apparatus of claim 23, wherein said transferdevices comprising 6 supporting fingers, and the angle between the lineacross the rotating axis of one transfer device and the center of theheating plate and the line across the rotating axis of the othertransfer device and the center of the heating plate is 120°.
 39. Theapparatus of claim 23, wherein the heating chamber further comprising awindow for loading the semiconductor workpiece in, and cooling chamberfurther comprising a window for loading the semiconductor workpiece out.40. The apparatus of claim 23, wherein the apparatus is used for:heating and cooling a thin film or a stack of thin films.
 41. Theapparatus of claim 23, wherein the apparatus is used for annealingmetallic or insulative films in semiconductor interconnect.
 42. Theapparatus of claim 23, wherein the apparatus is used for: reflowing thesolder.
 43. The apparatus of claim 23, wherein the apparatus is usedfor: curing and/or baking the polymeric coatings.
 44. A method forthermal treatment of semiconductor workpieces, comprising: providing aheating chamber and a cooling chamber being stacked vertically;providing a retractable door for separating the heating chamber and thecooling chamber; providing a fixed heating member at bottom of theheating chamber, and a heating layer at the lower surface of theretractable door; providing a fixed cooling member at top of the coolingchamber, and a cooling layer at the upper surface of the retractabledoor; moving the retractable door in between the heating chamber andcooling chamber and transporting a semiconductor workpiece into theheating chamber; starting heating processes; moving the retractable doorout between the heating chamber and cooling chamber and transporting thesemiconductor workpiece from the heating chamber into the coolingchamber when the heating process completes; moving the retractable doorin between the heating chamber and cooling chamber and starting coolingprocesses; transporting the semiconductor workpiece out of the coolingchamber.
 45. The method of claim 44, further comprising: preheating thesemiconductor workpiece before the heating process starts.
 46. Themethod of claim 44, further comprising: precooling the semiconductorworkpiece before the cooling process starts.
 47. A method for thermaltreatment of semiconductor workpieces, comprising: providing a heatingchamber and a cooling chamber positioned horizontally adjacent;providing a retractable door for separating the heating chamber and thecooling chamber; providing first heating member at bottom of the heatingchamber, and second heating member at top of heating chamber, providingfirst cooling member at bottom of the cooling chamber, and secondcooling member at top of cooling chamber, moving the retractable doorout between the heating chamber and the cooling chamber and transportinga first semiconductor workpiece into the heating chamber and secondsemiconductor workpiece into the cooling chamber; moving the retractabledoor in between the heating chamber and cooling chamber and startingheating and cooling processes; transporting the second semiconductorworkpiece out of the cooling chamber after the cooling processcompletes; moving the retractable door out between the heating chamberand cooling chamber and transporting the first semiconductor workpiecefrom the heating chamber into the cooling chamber after the heatingprocess completes; transporting a third semiconductor workpiece into theheating chamber; moving the retractable door in between the heatingchamber and cooling chamber and starting heating and cooling processes;repeating the above steps.
 48. The method of claim 47, furthercomprising: preheating the semiconductor workpiece before the heatingprocess starts.
 49. The method of claim 47, further comprising:precooling the semiconductor workpiece before the cooling processstarts.
 50. The method of claim 47, wherein the cooling time in coolingchamber is T1, the heating time in heating chamber is T2, and if T1≦T2,then time to transport the first semiconductor workpiece into heatingchamber will be set at least T1−T2 later than time to transport thesecond semiconductor workpiece into cooling chamber; and if T1<T2, thentime to transport the first semiconductor workpiece into heating chamberwill be set at least T2−T1 earlier than time to transport the secondsemiconductor workpiece into cooling chamber.